


Booking.oh come on!

by hobbeshalftail3469



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: F/M, Robin lusting after Strike, Strike lusting after Robin, Strike needs a pee, hotel mix up, large bath, single beds, teeny pyjamas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 18:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15757212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbeshalftail3469/pseuds/hobbeshalftail3469
Summary: Strike and Robin at in the middle of Wales, he's made a mistake booking their hotel and they have to share. Robin takes full advantage of their large bath, but Strike arrives back from an interview and desperately needs a pee.There is no plot; it's just my usual level of daftness based on a tiny idea and mental image that popped into my head!





	1. Unphased

“The booking was NOT made under the name of Mr Robin Strike!” Cormoran repeated to the increasingly harassed looking middle aged receptionist as she scrutinised her computer screen.  
“I’m sorry Sir, but our confirmation shows a request for one large room with bathroom for two nights; the booking was only made yesterday; is that right?” she asked.  
Cormoran nodded; he needed to speak to a lecturer at the university in mid-Wales regarding one of his PhD students and they’d had to hastily arrange the trip – Robin had focussed on sorting a hire car (the Land Rover being out of action due to it needing a new clutch!), he’d done the hotel.  
There was very little choice in the area, and he’d only been able to find this huge ‘country house’ style hotel, but he had made 2 bookings for 2 rooms….he could swear he had….plus he’d had a confirmation email ping through – which admittedly he hadn’t checked very thoroughly; but…….  
Robin appeared in the Reception area at this point having parked the hire car and brought her small case and laptop bag in with her; Strike had carried his leather holdall in with him; and she immediately sensed the tension between her colleague and the member of staff.  
“Look, I made a booking for 2 rooms; we need 2 rooms; so can you please try and sort out 2 rooms,” he sighed, trying to remain calm and not let his frustration tip over – he’d not been able to smoke in the hire car during the drive, and he was now tetchier than usual.  
“Well, I’m sorry Sir; but there is a graduation this weekend at the University…..we’re fully booked up way in advance – the room you booked yesterday only became available due to a late cancellation,” she explained in a broadly accented Welsh lilt.  
Cormoran slumped and cast his eyes towards the ceiling as Robin began to piece together what she had missed.  
“Are you saying we’ve only got one room?” she asked – addressing the remark to both Strike and ‘Cerys’ according to the name badge.  
Cerys nodded and winced, “I’m sorry madam, we got a booking request through with names that didn’t seem to make sense, so we booked the room we had in the name of Mr Robin Strike; but we haven’t got anything else….and nowhere local has anything – graduation you see!” and she shrugged.  
Robin sighed, but was more practical in her thoughts than Strike.  
“Well, we can’t go back to London now, and there isn’t an alternative……what’s the bed situation in this room?” she addressed the first statement to Strike and the final question towards Cerys behind the desk.  
“It’s got a large king size….but I could get the bed remade into 2 singles if that would help?” she suggested.  
Robin nodded warmly; “Yeah, that would be helpful,” then she turned her attention towards Strike who was softly banging his head against the wooden reception desk.  
“Come on, it’ll be OK….we’ve only got to share a bathroom, and we do that at work everyday!” she commented with a grin.  
He raised his head and looked at her…..God she was gorgeous; and funny; and practical and totally unphased by this. He inhaled sharply; realistically they wouldn’t spend much time in the room – it was almost evening now, so they could settle in and spend the evening in the dining room and bar, then he needed to meet the lecturer and would spend most of the next day dealing with that…..exhaling he ruefully nodded, “OK, we haven’t got much choice have we?!” and he signed the check in form and picked up the 2 key cards he was proffered.  
“I’ll get Dylan to show you to the room and have someone come up and sort the beds out; please help yourself to anything from the mini bar during the visit as a way of saying sorry,” Cerys offered.  
Strike silently thought she might live to regret that offer – especially as copious amounts of alcohol might be his only option of getting through 2 nights in the same room as Robin – and they followed the gangly young lad who came to direct them to the lifts and their large room.  
“Woah!” Robin almost shrieked when Dylan let them inside. It was a massive room at the corner of the building with a small terrace. There were 3 large windows, a sofa and 2 further tub style chairs as well as the usual desk, wardrobe, dressing table and currently one large king size bed.  
“Bathroom is through there,” Dylan indicated and Cormoran nodded – he’d spotted the mini-bar and could already see a few bottles of beer inside through the glass door. “And can I smoke out there?” he pointed at the terrace and received an affirmative response.  
2 further members of house keeping arrived and swiftly transformed the large king size bed into 2 singles which they separated with a small bedside cabinet; Robin was setting up her computer and logging onto the hotel wifi, Strike was out having a fag.  
Robin smiled and thanked them as they left and went to arrange her toiletries in the bathroom.  
“Woah!” she shrieked again, the bathroom was massive – larger than her flat and Strike’s put together. There was a massive walk in shower area, twin sinks with a huge mirror above them and the most enormous free standing bath tub….oh, and a loo of course!  
Robin giggled excitedly out onto the sunny terrace where Cormoran was on his third cigarette and second bottle of beer from the mini-bar.  
“Could be a lot worse…..and if you get desperate I reckon even you could sleep comfortably in that bath!” she smiled at his petulant look.  
He shrugged a little and managed a minute twitch of his mouth. He offered his beer over to Robin,   
“Since we’re sharing!” he grumbled and finally managed a tiny smile.  
“Come on, unpack, I’ve got those case notes open for you to look through for tomorrow, and then food – menu looks pretty good, and client is paying!” Robin waggled her eyebrows and went back into the room.  
Strike stubbed out his cigarette and followed her. The 2 beds made the room look significantly better,  
“Can I have the one nearest the loo? Will just be easier once my leg’s off later,” he remarked and Robin replied that she didn’t mind. He took his toiletries bag through into the bathroom and let out a smaller and more masculine version of Robin’s reaction.  
“Shit, I think you might be right about that bath!” he commented whilst going across to where Robin had set her laptop up beside the sofa. Strike flopped down – it felt weird for the sofa to not make a farty noise – and started scrolling through his notes. He grabbed his notebook and compared some comments before scribbling some additional notes on a fresh page.  
“What is the plan for meeting him tomorrow? Do you need me to drop you off?” Robin asked as she removed clothes from her bag. The weather was being unseasonally un-British, in that it was sunny and dry – Robin quite fancied a trip to the coast which she knew was about an hour away. She reckoned she could drop off Cormoran and have a nice walk along the beach, grab an ice-cream and get back to pick him up – at least then they wouldn’t be crammed together the whole time.  
“I’m meeting him at the university at 10.30 in the morning, and yeah, if you could drop me off please, that’d be great. You can occupy yourself right?” he asked, hoping that Robin wouldn’t think he was side lining her skills again; but he just felt this guy would be more comfortable talking to a man about the stuff he needed to ask about.  
“Oh yeah. No, he’ll clam up if I’m there, I’ll pootle off somewhere, or maybe I’ll just do a few laps pf the bath!” she grinned. Actually that bath really did look tempting – especially as she’d spied very good quality bath products in there too!  
Cormoran nodded, thankful that she agreed with the reason for him talking to the professor alone, but he was also battling with the image of Robin in that bath!  
Robin used the bathroom while Cormoran continued tinkering with the case notes. She’d brought a halter back sundress with her – mainly because it was that crinkly fabric that didn’t matter if it creased and was incredibly cool. She slipped on her flat sandals and applied a tiny amount of make up around her eyes. She didn’t bother styling her hair, she just ran her fingers through it and pulled out the clip she’d had in it throughout the day.  
“Right, I’m starving – let me check on the emails and then I’ll see you downstairs for some food, OK?” and she grabbed the laptop from Strike’s knee. He did a slight double take as he cast a glance over her – mainly because he hadn’t actually noticed that she’d left the room due to his focus on the case – but also because she looked so understatedly gorgeous. The blue colours in her dress made her hair shine even more honey-gold than usual.  
She was already trawling through, deleting, opening and replying to the small number of emails they’d received during the day and by the time Strike moved across to his still unpacked holdall she was picking up her handbag and a room keycard and shouting, “See you in a bit.”  
Robin found the dining area and asked for a table for them; as it was warm there were outside tables available and she requested one, knowing that Cormoran would appreciate being able to smoke and she could catch a few rays of the evening sun.  
She ordered a white wine, found her sunglasses in her bag and made herself comfortable awaiting Cormoran. He emerged and looked thrilled with her choice of dining option, but nipped back inside, presumably to fetch his cigarettes. A waiter brought a pint of beer over to the table and a fresh glass of wine for Robin, along with menus. She was glancing through making her choice when Cormoran came back,  
“I could get used to this sunshine stuff if it means I get to smoke and eat!” he smiled.  
“And drink!” Robin added, raising her glass as he picked up his pint.  
They ordered food, opting for starters as well as main meals as Robin had already noticed that portion sizes were not massive, and their client was footing the bill! Strike also ordered a bottle of red wine for himself which Robin agreed she would share as she’d ordered a creamy pasta dish and a cheese souffle which wouldn’t go so well with the white she was finishing.  
Strike made a mental note to force himself not to top up her glass too many times – she was bad enough on a third glass of white; adding the stronger alcohol content of red would finish her off!  
It was pleasant sharing the meal together. They talked about work; their joint friends Nick and Ilsa who had recently told them they were off on a holiday to India and also about general this and that. Strike wasn’t dating, Robin had been out a couple of times with a guy she met at her gym; but she informed Cormoran that he bored her, so she’d ditched him.   
Robin felt incredibly comfortable as she and Cormoran sat eating, drinking and in his case smoking. Having spoken about Grant, the gym guy, she couldn’t help but compare him to Cormoran – she certainly wasn’t bored by him; they were having a really good time together, laughing lots and she couldn’t help but think that he looked really very sexy – he’d changed into a fresh shirt which he’d rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, his long legs were stretched out in the sun, he had sunglasses on and the lit cigarette dangling from his fingers made him resemble a Camel tobacco advert.  
Cormoran was feeling relaxed; too relaxed and comfortable actually – he’d have to keep himself in check; Christ, he had to sleep a few feet away from Robin later and she looked amazing in the evening sunlight with so much of her creamy, freckled skin on display.  
They eeked out the meal, adding desserts and took their coffees inside when the light started to fade and it became cooler.   
“Right!” Strike eventually announced. “Do you wanna go and use our mammoth bathroom first and I’ll give you a bit of privacy before I read you a bedtime story!” he twinkled mischievously.  
Robin giggled, feeling rather warmed by both the coffee and wine, “Yeah, thanks; just give me 5 minutes, I’m pretty low maintenance as room mates go,” and she picked up her handbag giving him a beaming smile before heading off to the lift. Strike watched her go and breathed deeply…..he was doomed.


	2. How can they possibly be called pyjamas?

Back in the room, Robin wasted no time – she removed her make up, cleaned her teeth and got into her night clothes – she was slightly perturbed by her choice of pyjamas – she’d thrown a pair of aqua blue, checked sleep shorts and a pale yellow vest into her bag – neither of which left very much to the imagination; but hell, she hadn’t known she’d be sharing with Strike!  
She was stretched out on her belly, propped up on her elbows on top of her sheets playing an addictive word game on her phone when the door opened and Strike cautiously came in.  
He couldn’t miss the sight of her long, long legs; Jesus; he wasn’t just doomed, he was well and truly screwed…..how was it possible for 2 such tiny items of clothing to qualify as pyjamas?  
“I’ll be in here,” he announced. Once inside the bathroom he considered showering again but resorted to dousing his face in very cold water instead. He pee’d cleaned his teeth and swirled mouthwash around – he’d smoked a LOT since he got here, even by his standards. He changed into his long pyjama shorts, laughing at the difference between the length of his compared to the miniscule tartan ones Robin had been sporting. He’d have to remove his leg and the cuff in front of her…..he’d only ever removed his prosthesis before, she’d never actually seen what remained of his leg, and he was beginning to wish he’d packed full length pj bottoms….but in his defence it was roasting and he hadn’t known he’d be sharing. As it was he was going to have to sleep wearing a t shirt and pray to god he didn’t wake up with his usual morning affliction!  
He entered the room just as Robin was bending over to reach a bottle of water from the mini bar – doomed, screwed and spat out he thought!  
He settled on the edge of his bed to start the process of removing his leg as Robin closed all of the drapes. The light from their table lamps casting an intimate glow around the space.  
“Can I leave these open?” she indicated the windows and caught sight of Strike’s actual leg as he applied some sort of cream to it. She thought it looked a bit like an elbow, not at all nasty or scary looking, infact not quite as nasty as most men’s feet she considered to herself.  
Strike glanced up and nodded, “Yeah, it’s roasting leave ‘em open if you don’t mind,” he commented as he continued the laborious but necessary process of maintaining the health of his partial leg. “Was there another water in that fridge?” he asked.  
Robin nodded and leapt over to the small fridge, Cormoran keeping a very keen eye as she bent over to retrieve the water, this time he was rewarded with a front view down the pale gold coloured vest. God he shouldn’t be staring…..but he was already doomed, screwed, spat out and trodden on – how much worse could it get?!  
She put the bottle down on the cabinet between their beds and slid under the sheet on her bed, switching off her lamp, “I’ve set my alarm for 7,” she yawned, “Night, night Cormoran.”  
“Night Robin,” he replied, and when he got into his own bed a short time later she was already asleep. He watched her for a brief time, her hair splayed out and her face squashed into her pillow, her lips slightly parted and a teeny snore emanating from her, and just when he thought she couldn’t be any sweeter or more beautiful she let out the cutest ‘parp’ of a fart – why was it that you never saw this view in films or on TV he thought as he stifled a belly laugh and punched his pillow into his preferred lump for sleeping against.  
_____  
Robin woke in the early hours a bit chilly. She padded across the room and closed up the window closest to her bed and had a sip of her water. She noticed that Cormoran had thrown off his sheet and was sleeping on his back. She watched him briefly in the dim light, his face relaxed and soft looking, his breath deep and even; one of his hands resting above his head on the pillow the other flat against his stomach above his t shirt.  
Robin was a little startled by her reaction to him; she’d really enjoyed their meal, he was good company, and in this scenario yes, she had to admit, he was as sexy as hell. Get back into bed and get a grip woman…..not literally, she groaned!  
Strike woke up at 5am needing a pee. He noticed that Robin was curled over facing his bed, her legs wrapped around the sheet, her foot kicking slightly like a puppy’s during a dream. She whimpered slightly and her face contorted a little, he reached over and very gently smoothed her hair from her eyes, whispering "Shhhh, go back to sleep," resulting in a relaxation of her face and a sigh as she cuddled into her pillow closer.  
Strike hopped to the loo and couldn’t help settling down facing her when he got back into bed. They were so close; he could actually feel her breath as she exhaled….doomed, screwed, spat out, trodden on and possibly pissed on! But he fell back to sleep with a smile on his uneven lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowledge of the Paul Weller track, 'You do Something to me' and the Chris Stapleton version of Tennessee Whiskey might add to the ambiance

Robin’s alarm went off waking her, and her rolling over and catching a glimpse of Strike in all his morning glory, making her hiss “SHIT!”was what woke him up. Strike’s hand instantly grasped down the bed and he winced wondering whether she’d seen it.  
“Don’t panic, I’ve got a brother!” she yawned and stood up, stretching; the sight of which caused a further spasm to Strike’s groin, especially as the miniscule shorts had risen up her arse during the night and he was gazing upon the flawless peachiness of her backside. He realised that he was still grasping his crotch and rolled over instead.  
Robin showered, trying to remove the vision of her colleague’s incredibly obvious erection under the sheets….she had a brother…..and she’d had a horse……she wasn’t sure which description matched what she glanced at more accurately!  
She left her hair slightly damp and went down to breakfast to enable Strike to get himself ready in privacy. He needed a rather long, cold shower to shake away the thoughts that had accrued between the sight of Robin in her teeny shorts, Robin’s curvy arse cheeks and the knowledge that she’d showered, naked in the same space just minutes earlier.   
He met her for breakfast and after plenty of strong coffee, bacon and eggs and thick slabs of buttered toast they were back to ‘normal’.  
“Ok, I’m gonna go slap some make up on and grab my stuff, shall I meet you out front in 20 minutes?” Robin suggested.  
Cormoran nodded through a mouthful of toast, he’d already got the stuff he needed, and he could use a cigarette to start the day off.  
It took about 40 minutes to reach the university – parking was a bit of a nightmare as they were preparing for the graduation ceremony, but she dropped him at a porter’s lodge from where he was able to walk down to the Professor’s office.  
Robin drove on towards the coast and spent a pleasant hour walking on the beach, eating ice cream and inhaling that wonderful British seaside smell. She liked the look of the sea, but the pull of that glorious bath back at the room was too much, so she drove back to the hotel with the windows down and Absolute 80s on the radio full blast.  
She’d received a text from Strike:  
‘Prof being v helpful. Having lunch. He dropping me back at hotel. C’  
Marvellous, she could luxuriate and maybe even break open the mini bottle of Champagne that was in the minibar!  
She started filling the tub after adding both bottles of the luxurious bath elixir – it smelled of a fragrant tropical oasis and foamed up gloriously. She found and poured the Champagne and swirled her hair up onto her head securing it roughly with a clip.  
She lowered herself in and it was everything she’d hoped it would be – deep, perfectly shaped so that she could lie back with her head supported and just her painted toenails popping up at the other end. She giggled, thinking how ridiculous it was to be this satiated by a bath……it had been a while for her, but this was as good as sex anyday!  
She lost track of time; she had her phone playing an eclectic playlist of Norah Jones, Chris Stapleton, Corinne Bailey Rae and the odd Chet Baker and Paul Weller and she topped up the water when it started to feel too chilly, enjoying that her fingers and toes where turning pruney.  
Strike had found the morning highly successful, he’d enjoyed a pleasant pub lunch and having been dropped off outside the hotel following a very twisty journey back on a full bladder now just wanted to relieve himself.  
Robin had messaged him earlier saying that she was enjoying the beach – she’d even sent a selfie that looked stunning – the sun was highlighting her hair and she was licking a dripping whirl of ice cream from a cornet with the sea behind her.  
So focussed was he on urinating that he ignored the fact that Robin’s bag was on the table and went directly into the bathroom, lifting the loo seat, opening his fly and making that particular sigh only a man with a full bladder can make upon starting to relieve the pressure on it, whilst resting his other hand on the wall.  
“Eh herm,” coughed Robin, trying to remain perfectly still so as not to disturb the rapidly dwindling bubbles from the top of the tub.  
He twirled around, mid flow, “SHIT!”, followed by a second, “Shit it!” as he directed his pee back to the bowl. “ I needed a pee, sorry, you said you were at the beach!” he continued as his urine also continued to tinkle into the loo. He glanced upwards, and focussed on stopping the flow.  
“I was at the beach, but clearly I’m now not,” she heard him stop pissing, “You might as well finish now; it’s not good for you to stop is the middle,” she continued as she raised her arms from the bath and drank more from her Champagne glass.  
Strike looked towards the doorway thinking it would be the safest option,however this gave him a view in the massive mirror over the sinks. He could she Robin’s deliciously tousled hair piled up with soft tendrils escaping and curling down her neck, her face was clear of make up and shiny with warmth and her beautifully pink toes, tipped with coral were peeping up from the foam.  
Jesus……doomed, screwed, spat out, trodden on, pissed on (albeit by himself) and now stiff – he couldn’t continue peeing if he wanted to….it was pointing the wrong way!  
But Robin was insistent, “Just wee will you, I can’t see anything….I’ll turn the music up to drown it out,” she suggested and cranked the volume on the end of the track ‘You do Something To Me’ by Paul Weller……he rolled his eyes and glanced down….yeah, no way that was gonna point down for a bit!  
“Tell me about the chat with the Professor,” Robin suggested, “Then you’ll forget and relax and you’ll be able to pee again,” she continued, as usual acting as though this was perfectly natural and not in the slightest bit weird or embarrassing at all.  
But Strike’s bladder was now really painful and he needed to empty it, so he went along with the suggestion and started to tell her about some of the things they’d discussed….and it worked, he felt himself becoming more inclined to hit the porcelain rather than his own chin.  
He had started to relieve himself again, carefully aiming at the side of the bowl so as not to make a ridiculously loud sound as they continued to chat about the case.  
It would have been fine if the music hadn’t changed, the opening bars of the incredibly sultry Chris Stapleton version of Tennessee Whiskey started up and Cormoran heard Robin shift under the water. The gentle splish of her arm and foot finding the water combined with the song aroused him beyond belief. He’d pee’d enough for comfort, but there was no way he’d be able to get himself into a fit state standing in the steamy, incredible smelling bathroom with Robin’s naked body making gentle splashes just feet away from him.  
So he flushed the loo and returned the seat down,   
“Gonna go across there and wash my hands,” he indicated with his back towards her.  
Robin stifled a giggle as she caught sight of his face in the mirror; his lip bitten between his teeth and a definite flush to his cheeks. He washed his hands and dared to risk glancing at Robin’s reflection in the mirror. She was still perfectly covered by water and foam, sadly, and he would have loved to walk over and kiss her plump lips.  
“I’ll erm…..nip down and grab a coffee…..or maybe something stronger,” he mumbled as Chris sang about being as smooth as Tennessee whiskey, as sweet as strawberry wine and as warm as a glass of brandy……


End file.
